A spiritual Blog

Sun Shines to Dispel Darkness

“Shame on you because of the powers of your bodies, for they will mistreat you. “Shame on you because of the actions of the evil demons. “Shame on you who entice your limbs with fire. Who will sprinkle a restful dew on you, to extinguish the many fires within you, and your burning? Who will shine the sun on you, to dispel darkness in you, and hide darkness and filthy water? “The sun and the moon will give a fragrant aroma to you and the air, the spirit, the earth, and the water. If the sun does not shine upon these bodies, they will rot and perish just like weed or grass. If the sun shines on it, it grows strong and chokes the grapevine. But if the grapevine becomes strong and casts its shadow over the weeds and all the rest of the brush growing with it, and spreads and fills out, it alone inherits the land where it grows, and dominates wherever it has cast its shadow. So when it grows, it dominates the whole land, and it is productive for its master and pleases him greatly. He would have labored painfully to pull out weeds, but the grapevine by itself has disposed of them and choked them, and they have died and have become like earth.” Then Jesus continued and said to them, “Shame on you, for you have not accepted the teaching, and those who wish to accept it will suffer when they preach. You will persecute them, but you will rush into your own traps. You will cast them down to the lions and put them to death, daily, but they will rise from death.” ~The Book of Thomas

Powers of the Body

The powers of the body are not necessarily evil. But when you concentrate on using the powers of the body and don’t develop your spiritual powers, then they are. It’s somewhat like in Harry Potter when you drink Unicorn blood you will live “a half-life, a cursed life”. In this case, you are drinking from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which is to say, the world of matter.

The realm of matter is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the complete universe. There are more spiritual dimensions than material ones, so to ignore them is to ignore seventy percent of reality. And matter is both temporary and an illusion in some ways, so it is even worse than only seeing thirty percent. It is as if you are given the choice of a stone statue or an ice sculpture and you choose the ice. You might like the looks of the ice sculpture better, but in a few hours, it will melt and be gone. So care for the body, feed it and exercise it, but go beyond the physical to experience reality.

Action of Demons

Why should the action of demons shame you? It is because too many of us are willing to listen to the demons and creatures of darkness and do their bidding, whether we are aware of it or not. Doing the work of the demons is another way of saying that you are materialistic. Demons and devils rule in the world of matter. Angels and Beings of Light rule in the spiritual dimensions. We do have to live out our lives in the world of matter, but we don’t have to embrace it as a loving friend. So the demons shame us by simply getting us to do their bidding.

Sun Shines

Thomas asks, “Who will shine the sun on you, to dispel the darkness in you?” The answer, of course, is God. God’s Spiritual Light that awakens the spirit and soul shines on us through the spirit of the sun (or Sun of Righteousness). But it is up to us to turn to that light and take it in. It is also up to us to have the right attitude when we do so. The Light of the Spiritual Sun will awaken our spiritual faculties only if we send it positive and benevolent thoughts. It is, in a sense, an exchange of energy rather than just taking energy on our part. We are intended to be participants in the universe, not just pieces of driftwood going with the flow and having no goals.

Weeds and Grapevines

The section about weeds and grapevines seems a little confused. Let’s try to sort out the allegory of it.

If the sun shines mostly on the weeds, it means that the material sun is dominant and the servants of demons and matter, the weeds, will be strong and control the world. We are definitely seeing that in the world today and in recent centuries.

If the sun shines primarily on the grapevines, it means that the spiritual sun is dominant and the servants of God and Truth, represented by grapevines, will be a dominant force in the world. Such a world has existed in the past, and it can once more. Some of the great spiritual leaders say we are now at the dawn of a new Spiritual Age or Golden Age which will allow the spiritual to rule. It may not seem that way, but we must remember that it is always darkest and coldest just before the dawn. And this new age isn’t just coming to planet Earth. The entire physical universe is being slowly transformed. A lot of what is being called global warming is really the entire universe changing. We can embrace the change and become part of it, or we can fight the change and die along with the realm of matter. When the sun shines on our spirits and souls, they gain eternal life.

Coronavirus

One added point about sunlight for those concerned about covid-19. When the sun shines on us it emits radiation that can help kill any virus in us or on us. It also helps strengthen our immune system. So don’t hide from sunlight if you want good health. The idea that we should have weak, pasty, ghost skin that never sees sunlight is total nonsense.